Koenma
King Enma Jr., usually addressed as Koenma (子閻魔 [コエンマ]) is an ally of Yusuke's, as well as the ruler of Spirit World. In the anime television series, Koenma is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka in Japanese and Sean Teague in English. He is called Jericho in the Filipino dub of the anime.Wikipedia.Org List of YuYu Hakusho characters, Koenma Appearance Koenma normally appears as a toddler with a red obi sash tied at the waist of a pink-trimmed blue robe over brown pants and black shoes. However, when venturing into the human and demon worlds, he transforms into a handsome teenager with long brown hair, parted down the middle (though he occasionally appears in his true toddler form as well). In both forms, though, he retains similar dress, as well as the "Jr." mark on his forehead and a blue pacifier kept in his mouth. He appears remarkably young for his age (exactly 700 years old in the manga, 699 in the beginning of the series), being that has existed for several centuries prior to commissioning Yusuke. Personality Being a prince, Koenma has many subordinates, especially the ogre, George. The two don't really get along, as Koenma has a temper and George often annoys him. He also has a rather bossy attitude, commanding those around him to accomplish his tasks, whether they work for him or not. He gets along with Botan, however he has a sort of sibling rivalry with Yusuke. In the original Japanese version, he addresses himself as "washi", a term that elderly Japanese men and women use when talking about themselves. This may either refer to his actual age versus his apparent age, or a desire to be taken seriously by talking in such a manner. Synopsis Spirit Detective Saga Yusuke dies, only to be resurrected by Koenma to become a spirit detective. Koenma gives Botan several items to communicate with each other, but Yusuke refuses to use them. When the Saint Beasts attack the Human World, he blindly sends Yusuke in to defeat them, without any knowledge of who they are. He also sent the tape with Hiei to give to Yusuke that described their mission to the stronghold that held Yukina. Dark Tournament Saga At the beginning of the Dark Tournament, Koenma sits in a luxury room, watching over the battles with George. He later becomes a replacement for the team, and adopts his teenage appearance. However, secretly he doesn't actually want to fight. Chapter Black Saga After Shinobu Sensui begins to open a portal into Makai, Koenma explains the former spirit detective's past. He also wonders if Yusuke will be able to defeat him. Koenma was riddled with guilt, believing he should be blamed for all of Sensui's actions. Due to this, he used the power of his pacifier to revive the young Amanuma "Game Master" Tsukihito when he was killed by Kurama. He attempts to use his pacifier to seal Sensui for all eternity with the energy given out by his pacifier, called Mafuuken, but Yusuke forbade him from doing so. When King Yama sent down the Spirit Defense Force (SDF) to take Yusuke's body after he was killed by Sensui, Koenma went against his father and defended Yusuke's body, much to the dismay of King Yama. When Yusuke is resurrected the second time, he goes with Yusuke on Puu's back to Demon World and tells the leader of the SDF that he does not want to leave. Three Kings Saga By protecting Yusuke and allowing his transformation, Koenma was directly disobeying the orders of his father. Unable to return to the Spirit World, Koenma hid himself in the Human World. He warned Yusuke of Enma's machinations, and advised him to remain vigilant at all times. Upon hearing of Yusuke's inner turmoil caused by his empty defeat of Sensui and a general lack of worthy opponents in Human World, Koenma suggested that Yusuke speak with Genkai. When news reaches the Spirit World of Raizen's failing health and the shifting balance of powers, Enma reinstated his son. Koenma, back in his official robes, visits Genkai's property where Shishiwakamaru, Chu, Touya, Rinku, Jin, and Suzuka were being secretly trained at the request of Kurama. Koenma expressed that while he trusted Kurama and his intentions, the consequences of the upcoming war were too great for Kurama's personal feelings to guide his actions. In the anime, Koenma and Botan observed the matches of the Makai Tournament. Though admitting the outcome of the tournament was a favorable one, Koenma berated Yusuke for taking too many chances with the fate of all three worlds. He promptly fired Yusuke from his position as Spirit Detective, who stated that he would have quit, anyways. Koenma and Yusuke then parted as friends. A fun note, is that Koenma's disguise at the Makai Tournament, strongly resembles, Tuxedo Kamen (Tuxedo Mask in the dub), from Sailor Moon. A character created by YuYu Hakusho's creator, Yoshihiro Togashi's wife, Naoko Takeuchi. Botan then asked Koenma what to do with all of the "footage". Koenma told her to package it, revealing that the entire anime was a series of clips from the files of Spirit World, and the narrator was the ogre, George. Epilogue In the anime, Koenma is briefly seen vigorously stamping papers with his seal. In the manga, Koenma deposed his father and the entire ruling party of Spirit World. He investigated countless records and discovered that his father had falsified accounts of demon cruelty towards humans. While demon attacks on humans did occur, much of the violence was done at the behest of humans themselves. Humans would use demons as assassins and murderers, blaming any tragedies fully on the inherent malice of demons. King Enma used this over-exaggeration in order to justify placing the Human World completely within the jurisdiction of the Spirit World, and blocking off the Human World from the Demon World. He would often capture low-class demons and brainwash them into committing acts of evil in Human World, in order to prove that allowing demons into the Human World would cause rampant destruction. As a result of the deposition, Koenma became somewhat depressed. To cheer him up, Botan brought Koenma to a party, with both spirits and demons (including Enki) in attendance. Koenma is later taken hostage along with Botan and a hundred other spirits when a radical Spirit World religious sect, in an attempt to "purify" the Human World, took over the Gates of Judgment. Unless all demons were removed from the Human World, the sect threatened to not only kill all of the hostages, but also to fire an Interdimensional Laser at the Human World. Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara managed to infiltrate the Gates of Judgement and subdued the terrorists. One terrorist explained to Yusuke that in order to stop the Laser from firing, he would need to press a specific switch on the control terminal. However, in addition to the correct switch, there were two false switches in place. One false switch would detonate the weapon and kill anyone still inside the Gates of Judgment and the other would automatically fire the Laser at the Human World. Yusuke ordered everyone to evacuate the Gates while he would decide which switch to press. However, Koenma, Hiei, and Puu remained with him while he deliberated. Items *'Pacifier': Koenma's powers rely solely on his pacifier, into which he has transferred his Spirit Energy, in order to conserve his power for darker times. **It has the ability to help Koenma bring corpses back to life. Techniques/Moves *'Metamorphosis:' He has the ability to metamorphose his body from a toddler to a young man and vice versa. He frequently utilizes this technique when he appears in Ningenkai as a means to feel better about himself and prevent possible ridicule he might take in his toddler form. *'Ma Fū Kan' (魔封環, translated as Demon Seal Ring): Also known as the Conscience Ring and the Wicked Seal, Koenma's pacifier is the vehicle for this technique; the strongest defensive spell in all of Spirit World. When released, this technique is supposed to create a kekkai barrier net that is far stronger than the one that separated Human World from Demon World during King Yama's rule. While such an ability can be used at anytime, it is reserved for grave and catastrophic situations and darker periods of existence. :*There's a pun here, in that "Kan", when written as 看 (kan) as part of 看守 [かんしゅ] (kanshu), means "jailer". If Koenma had been able to successfully use this technique against Sensui, he would have been Sensui's eternal jailer. :*Specializing in demons, the Ma Fū Kan can even trap S-class demons, like Yomi and Mukuro, with ease. Most noticeably, this technique completely failed against Sensui and his Sacred Energy. Trivia *Despite his outward appearance, and childish mannerisms, Lord Koenma is actually over 700 years old. References Category:Characters